Shirshu Dart
by thumos
Summary: When Zuko and Azula wander away from Lu Ten somewhere in the Earth Kingdom, the Fire Nation prince finds help in an unlikely source. Lu Ten/Jun crack pairing.


_Crack pairings are the best, aren't they? Don't ask what made me write this or what inspired me to ship this, but… here you go. Enjoy, and please review!_

* * *

Jun couldn't help but smirk when she saw that poor Fire Nation soldier floundering about asking everyone sober enough to talk: "Have you seen a kid about this tall," he'd draw his hand up to his waist at this point, "who kind of looks like me? He's probably with a little girl about this tall," he had to crouch down to lower his hand, "and—"

"You already asked me this, like, ten times!" the man he was asking at the moment yelled. "If you're too drunk to look after your kids, don't drink in the first place! Or better yet, don't bring them somewhere they can get lost!"

"They're not my kids, they're my cousins!" the Fire Nation soldier yelled back before groaning. "Forget it! Agni, where could they have gone off to?"

Jun chuckled; the poor soldier had been at this for almost half an hour now. A small part of her – a tiny, miniscule part – pitied him, but the rest just laughed at his misery. His golden eyes fell on Jun then, and she couldn't help but smile as they way they widened as he stumbled towards her. Strangely enough, she couldn't smell a drop of alcohol on him and for some reason, she doubted Nyla could too; the telltale Fire Nation blush was absent as well. "Have you seen—"

"No," Jun cut him off. "I haven't seen your brats. But I can help you find them."

"R-Really?" the Fire Nation soldier stuttered, his eyes widening.

"But it'll cost you," Jun continued smoothly. "I've got a shirshu out back." Jun jerked her head towards the door of the cantina.

The Fire Nation soldier's eyes narrowed slightly in admiration. "Really?" he asked. "You actually tamed a shirshu? That's incredible!"

Jun smirked. "So are you in or not?"

The Fire Nation soldier straightened up; it was amazing how much he changed when he lost that flustered, desperate look. "How much?"

Jun's smirk widened. "That depends on how far away from here they are and how important they are in general."

"Oh they're _really_ important," the soldier said. "Shall we go? Um…"

"Jun," she filled in helpfully. "And you are?"

"Lu Ten," the soldier answered hurriedly. "My name is Lu Ten."

Jun smirked again. "Well, Lu Ten, let's get going. Your brats couldn't have gotten far."

* * *

"… and Zuko's really sweet and naïve, but a little _too_ naïve, you know? But Azula's really clever and smart, so I'm sure she's taking good care of him. I hope they're all right, but I'm sure they—"

"Wait a minute," Jun cut off Lu Ten's ramblings. "Zuko? Azula? And your name is Lu Ten? I didn't know you guys were part of the royal family. That just about doubled your bill – you _do_ realize that, right?" Lu Ten was starting to grate on Jun's nerves; he just went on and on and _on_ about his cousins – the ones he lost – and it was giving Jun a headache. But _this_… this certainly made things a lot better.

Lu Ten smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Well… I _am_ a prince, but I'm a soldier first, if you know what I mean…"

Jun scoffed. "That doesn't excuse the fact that your family's filthy stinking rich," she retorted. "I mean, it's the _royal family_."

"I'll pay you as soon as I get home," Lu Ten assured her. "I promise."

"Whatever," Jun muttered.

And then, from that point forward, there was a long, awkward silence – until Lu Ten broke it about ten minutes later. "What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

"What's your family like? It can't be more boring than mine."

Jun smirked; he seriously thought the _royal family_ was _boring_? "Seriously? Boring?"

"Well… yeah. I mean, all anyone ever does is go to war meetings and practice firebending and, in Grandfather's case, sit in the throne room doing nothing, and… you're avoiding the question." Jun's mouth formed a hard line. "I'm sorry. I'm overstepping my boundaries." And then there was that stiff formality again, the prince and honorable soldier part of him. Though Jun would whip anyone who said it into submission, she preferred the more carefree, dorky side of Prince Lu Ten – the one that stumbled towards her in the cantina, practically begging for her help.

"I don't have one," Jun answered with a sigh. "They died in a raid when I was little. I don't really remember them."

"I'm sorry," Lu Ten said. "It was a Fire Nation raid, wasn't it? I'm really sorry. If there's anything I can do—"

"Cut the crap, Princey," Jun snapped, glaring at him.

Lu Ten shook his head, unfazed. "I'm serious," he said firmly. "I… It was my family that ordered the attack, so I'm sorry on principle, and… I want to help."

"There's nothing you can do that'll bring my parents back," Jun said bitterly. "Besides – everything I own, everything that I am now… I've had to fight for it. All on my own."

Lu Ten laid a hand on Jun's shoulder, and she flinched slightly. "Well maybe you don't have to do everything alone."

She smiled bitterly. "You know, you aren't anything like I expected you royals to be."

Lu Ten smiled back. "And you aren't anything like I expected a bounty hunter to be."

"Quick question, Princey: why are we at war again?"

Jun almost burst out laughing at the way Lu Ten's face scrunched up in confusion. "You know… I don't really know." And then they lapsed back into silence, a more comfortable one. "I'll be Fire Lord one day…" Lu Ten mused. "And when I am, I'll end the war. It's stupid and pointless and, honestly, a lot more trouble than it's worth."

Jun smirked at him. "I wouldn't mind having you for a Fire Lord."

Lu Ten smiled back earnestly. "Thanks, Jun… That means a lot…"

* * *

"There you guys are!" Lu Ten called as Nyla drew to a halt in front of two children, a boy with a long ponytail, and a girl with a topknot. Lu Ten leapt off the shirshu and embraced both children. "Agni, Zuko, I told you not to run off like that!"

"It wasn't my fault!" Zuko protested. "Azula's the one who—"

"Zuzu!" Azula wailed. "You weren't supposed to tell!"

"Well it was your fault anyway!" Zuko shot back.

Jun couldn't help but laugh at the children's antics; it was no wonder Lu Ten lost them. "Oh!" Lu Ten gasped as he stepped back. "Zuko, Azula, this is Jun. She helped me find you."

Jun waved at them and smirked. "Hey."

Zuko stepped back hesitantly, looking a bit intimidated, and Azula's eyes widened in wonder.

"Lu Ten, is she your girlfriend?" she asked.

"He's not my boyfriend!" Jun yelled just as Lu Ten yelled: "She's not my girlfriend!"

Azula giggled, clearly not believing them, and Jun glared at Lu Ten, who flushed scarlet and grinned sheepishly. "C-Can we go now?" Zuko asked hesitantly.

"Of course!" Lu Ten answered with a gentle smile. "Um… Jun, is it okay if we…"

Jun rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'll take you guys back," she said. "That's extra, by the way."

Lu Ten smiled brightly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it," she replied, grinning back.

* * *

It took a few minutes of closely scrutinizing his face, but Jun definitely recognized Lu Ten's cousin Zuko, even though it had been almost seven years since she last saw him; the boy now donned a rather nasty scar that covered nearly half his face. She could still remember the time Lu Ten finally tracked her down almost a year later to pay her – _how_ he managed to do that, she'd never know – and how she, for reasons she herself didn't understand, refused his payment. She remembered the excuses she told herself – that Lu Ten's payment was long overdue, that princes shouldn't be fraternizing with bounty hunters anyway. She remembered the way he smiled so confidently, so unlike the awkward boy she'd met in that cantina before, and how he insisted that he repay her in some way. He'd taken her out for dinner that day, and she insisted that he stay overnight when it started to rain. Things happened – most of which Jun would rather not discuss with anyone.

She remembered how he made excuse after excuse just to see her, and he stayed over many more nights, how he was unlike any other boy she'd ever dated and how _happy_ he made her – and how hollow and empty she felt when she finally learned that he'd died. It was even worse, since he'd written to her beforehand, promising that he'd come to see her after he conquered Ba Sing Se, and he'd finally bring her to meet his family, something the two usually bickered about (after all, Jun was just a bounty hunter – not potential-Fire-Nation-princess material at all).

And now Zuko was there, looking angry and annoyed at the world, and an old man followed him with a gentle smile. Jun recognized him instantly from the pictures Lu Ten showed her – he was General Iroh, Lu Ten's father. When Zuko thrust that Water Tribe betrothal necklace in her face and demanded that she help him find whomever it belonged to – his ex-girlfriend, no doubt – Jun couldn't ignore the knowing smile on Iroh's face (he _must_ have recognized her; there was no other way he could look so smug), and, thinking of Lu Ten, she agreed to help.


End file.
